As an avid film lover, one often wonders what happens when a creative, talented filmmaker, who has made several good films, some even memorable, just fails to find his touch. What is that elusive something which he fails to bring to his film, that he can no longer hold audiences to rapt attention as he used to? It is, perhaps, something similar to what a great batsman faces when he finds the ball is no longer hitting the middle of the bat, that the edge of the bat is what the ball always manages to find, innings after innings, as the slip fielders rejoice behind him while he heads back to the pavilion for the nth time, out for a single-digit score.

In this occasional series on directors of the Hindi film industry, this time we take a look at those filmmakers who have seen heady success, whose films set the box office ablaze and whose works were widely appreciated and discussed, but who no longer seem to find their touch, recreate the magic that their earlier films wove on the screen.

What have they lost that they can no longer find? As some of them attempt to get back their touch in film after disastrous film, we take a look at a few such filmmakers who Indian cinema audiences are waiting to welcome back to peak form.

RAM GOPAL VARMA

King of the dark frame

No discussion on out-of-form filmmakers can commence without mentioning RGV, whose latest film, the narcissistically titled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag caused so much anguish among his admirers that many of them simply could not digest that this film was made by the same gentleman who gave Indian cinema benchmark films such as Satya and Company. If Satya was a look into the psyche of the faceless underworld henchman ? several of whom mingle with ease with the milling Mumbai crowd ? Company was a dramatic interpretation inspired by the Dawood Ibrahim-Chhota Rajan story. Every single frame of these two films remain etched in the memories of RGV fans for their sheer impact, the in-your-face style of storytelling and the dramatic, yet often understated, manner in which these films unfolded. This, remember, is the same man who also gave Hindi cinema two other superbly crafted films ? Kaun? and Bhoot. While the former was a murder thriller in the best traditions of Hollywood, complete with a chilling surprise ending, the latter was the first true-blue horror film, far removed from the trash churned out in earlier years by the Ramsay film factory. Here was a man who was ready and brave enough to push the envelope and make unadulterated cinema.

Sarkar, RGV?s take on the mystique of Balasaheb Thackeray, which showcased Amitabh Bachchan as the brooding, silent Godfather-like figure followed. Alongside, Varma even began producing some good, small-budget films, notable among them the Manoj Bajpai-Raveena Tandon starrer Shool, the superbly crafted cop movie Ab Tak Chhappan starring the redoubtable Nana Patekar and Ek Hasina Thi.

But then, the ball began hitting the edge of the bat. The same director began to churn out inane stuff like Naach, Nishabd and, of course, RGV Ki Aag. If Naach was reflective of the fact that Varma was losing his touch, Nishabd ? obviously inspired by Lolita but completely lacking in sensitivity, sensuality or emotion ? showed that Varma was no longer the same filmmaker he once was. A fact finally proved beyond doubt by the disastrous RGV Ki Aag, a mockery of the Ramesh Sippy classic Sholay which proved that Varma had completely missed the essential high points of the original in trying to remake the film in his own, rather bizarre kind of way.

Then came another dud, Darling, and even the diehard Varma fan will now agree he?d better head quickly for the drawing board for a serious reality check on what?s gone wrong. Clearly, the envelope seems to have been pushed off the table.

JP DUTTA

Big-screen boss

Dutta was clearly a chip off the old block: his style of film-making reminded you of the glamour and larger-than-life business of cinema and the fine art of storytelling. This was a director who excelled in telling a story with relish, frame by lavish frame, and gave Indian audiences good cinema replete with an enviable line-up of big stars.

His cinematic technique was good, his stories gripping and dramatic, and his desert sagas reminiscent of Hollywood Westerns. So whether it was films like Ghulami, Yateem or Hathyar, Dutta managed to hold his audiences in rapt attention with stories which tracked the lives of his protagonists through the years, through dusty terrain. Whether it is Sunny Deol in Yateem or Sanjay Dutt in Hathyar, Dutta?s camera tracked their lives in dramatic fashion. Few filmmakers in modern Hindi cinema have been able to capture the Hindi heartlands and the deserts of Rajasthan better than Dutta, a talent exhibited even in his later films like Batwara and Kshatriya, once again lavishly mounted multistarrers with the likes of Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles.

Dutta reached heady success with his war epic Border, a realistically portrayed account of the 1971 Indo-Pak war and the inspiring story of a battalion of brave men who fought till the very end, and won. Once again, Dutta assembled a lavish star cast of Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and several others, providing audiences a heady mix of patriotism, emotion and entertainment. Then came Refugee, the launch vehicle for Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor, a well-made film, but certainly not in the best traditions of earlier JP Dutta blockbusters. A mediocre script made sure the film lacked the essential dramatic ingredients which make a Dutta film special. The director followed it up with the inordinately long attempt at recreating the border magic, LOC: Kargil, but by that time the theme seemed to have lost its relevance and the film bombed without a trace. The most recent Dutta offering was one which was another RGV-esque attempt at remaking a classic etched in the hearts of Indian cinema lovers.

Dutta sought to make the Muzaffar Ali classic Umrao Jaan (for which Rekha won the National Award in 1982) with Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead. The result: a film which simply lacked the soul of the original, and was in sharp contrast to the sheer sensuality and passion of Ali?s version of the story. The music, the high point of the original, was also pedestrian in Dutta?s version. The result: a washout. Why Dutta chose to depart from his favourite genre of big-scale blockbusters is quite a mystery. What the director now needs is a script that will test his moviemaking skills once again so he can return to what he does best: make big, engrossing cinema.

SUBHASH GHAI

Master of the blockbuster

Some filmmakers are just made for the big screen. Subhash Ghai is one such. Right through the 1980s, with films like the mega hit Karz, Vidhaata, Hero, Meri Jung and Karma, Ghai proved time and again that the big screen was his forte. And handling big stars his USP. If Ghai pitted Shammi Kapoor with Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar in Vidhaata, he launched Jackie Shroff as lead actor with much fanfare in the superhit Hero and then went on to bring the likes of Naseeruddin Shah and Jackie Shroff together with Dilip Kumar in Karma. Clearly, nothing was too big for Subhash Ghai who succeeded Raj Kapoor as the new-generation ?showman?. The icing on Ghai?s cake was the casting coup he achieved by getting the temperamental superstar Raaj Kumar together with Dilip Kumar in the 1991 film Saudagar, which also saw him launch Manisha Koirala.

Ghai?s talent lay in setting out an elaborate story for his audiences and going about telling that story in grand scale, complete with all the trappings which make for a huge film. Songs, dances, treacherous villains, they all came together in a cauldron of drama and emotion in every single Ghai film. And the audiences simply lapped it up. If Anil Kapoor?s entry in Ram Lakhan, singing the huge hit One two ka four, four two ka one, my name is Lakhan had the frontbenchers going crazy, Sanjay Dutt?s antics in Khalnayak and Madhuri Dixit?s Choli ke peechhe number had audiences asking for more. But somewhere after that, Ghai underwent a change.

He sought to shed his grassroots, rustic movie-making style aimed at the broader masses and aimed at going up the style quotient. This is when films like Pardes and Taal followed. These weren?t really bad films, but somewhere, the audiences couldn?t connect with the new-look Ghai. The beating drums, the weeping mother of the hero, the screaming villain had gone.

If the Shahrukh Khan starrer Pardes was a love story, in Taal Ghai deals with a love triangle with Anil Kapoor playing a Bally Sagoo-style singer in love with Aishwarya Rai, complete with elaborate modern dance sequences.

Ghai seemed to have morphed into a new, more slick director. What followed were Yaadein and Kisna: The Warrior Poet and audiences were confused. At the same time, Ghai as producer got busy with his company, Mukta Arts, and the showman was clearly someone the audience began missing. Ghai has to return to his pet film-making style. Let the others do the other genres, Ghai?s best at blockbusters. And that?s what he must do.

MANI RATNAM

Where?s the Guru?

It?s almost impossible to believe that the man who made Nayakan, the cult film on the life of underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar, and Roja, realistic account of the Kashmir problem, is the same man who has directed Guru. Mani Ratnam?s Guru, which is loosely based on the life of industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, is not a bad film. But it?s not Mani Ratnam. It?s not the same man who directed Kamal Hassan as the Tamil superstar essayed the role of Mudaliar in his inimitable fashion. It?s not the same man who brilliantly depicted the transformation of a simple village girl into a gritty, tough woman fighting to get her husband back from terrorists in Roja. Not even the same man who gave us an intense, passionate account of the star-crossed romance between a radio station executive and a female terrorist in Dil Se.., a film, despite average box-office pickings, also remembered for a memorable music score by AR Rahman. The Mani Ratnam audiences love is the one who takes issues head-on, weaves dramatic content effortlessly around it, and then executes it on film with effortless ease. Whether it is the communal riots in Bombay or the refreshingly different Yuva which showcased Abhishek Bachchan?s acting skills, Ratnam is as good as they come. But whatever happened in Guru? The script does not do justice to the dramatic life story of the protagonist. And Ratnam stops short of making a clear cinematic comment in the film. Clearly, he could have done better.

The Mani Ratnam we?re used to watching is the one who shows Shah rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala, with bombs going off in the background, in an exquisitely crafted sequence for the title song in Dil Se.

Now, that?s a comment.